James Loscutoff Jr. (February 4, 1930 – December 1, 2015) was a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the Boston Celtics of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). A forward, Loscutoff played on seven Celtics championship teams between 1956 and 1964.

Life and career

Loscutoff was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, the son of Nellie George (Ramzoff) and James Loscutoff. His parents were

Spiritual Christian Spiritual Christianity (russian: духовное христианство) is the group of belief systems held by so-called ''folk Protestants'' (), including non- Eastern Orthodox indigenous faith tribes and new religious movements that eme ...

Molokans The Molokans ( rus, молокан, p=məlɐˈkan or , "dairy-eater") are a Spiritual Christian sect that evolved from Eastern Orthodoxy in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions—especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts—did not ...

from Russia. He starred in basketball at Palo Alto High School, graduating in 1948. Loscutoff then attended Grant Technical College, a two-year college near

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, before proceeding to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. In his final season at Oregon, Loscutoff led the team in scoring and rebounding with 19.6 points per game and 17.2 rebounds per game. He still holds the Oregon school record for rebounds in a game, with 32. Standing tall, Loscutoff was selected with the third non- territorial pick of the first round in the

1955 NBA draft The 1955 NBA draft was the ninth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 13, 1955, before the 1955–56 season. In this draft, eight remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bask ...

. He was originally drafted by coach

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

to provide some much-needed defensive nerve for the Celtics team, which (despite becoming the first team to average 100 points per game in the 1954–55 season) had one of the worst defensive records in the league. During his rookie year, Loscutoff set a then-record for the Celtics with 26 rebounds in a game. In the

1957 NBA Finals The 1957 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1956–57 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1957 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champ ...

, he sank the final two free throws of a 125–123 double-overtime victory over the

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

game seven A game seven is the final game of a best of seven series. This game can occur in the postseasons for Major League Baseball (MLB) (League Championship Series and World Series), the National Basketball Association (NBA) (all rounds of the NBA pl ...

, as the Celtics won their first NBA championship. Loscutoff missed most of the 1957–58 season due to a knee injury, working closely with Auerbach on his rehabilitation. He successfully returned to the Celtics and was a member of six more championship teams. In nine NBA seasons, from 1955–56 to 1963–64, Loscutoff was a member of seven championships as part of the legendary Celtics teams of the 1960s. A

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

, he was sometimes described as the Celtics hatchet man. His defense and strength were part of the defensive greatness of the 1960s Celtics, alongside Hall-of-Famer

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

. Loscutoff's nicknames included "Jungle Jim" and "Loscy". The organization wished to honor Loscutoff, but he asked that his jersey number (18) not be retired, so that a future Celtic could wear it. Instead, the Celtics added a banner with his nickname "Loscy" to the

retired number Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking his or her former number out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future pla ...

banners hanging from the rafters of their arenas. The number was later retired in honor of another Celtic great,

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the B ...

. Loscutoff coached the basketball team at

Boston State College Boston State College was a public university located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. History Boston State College's roots began with the Girls' High School, which was founded in 1852. In 1872, the Boston Normal School separated from Gir ...

from 1964 to 1976 and compiled a record of 219–92 with the Warriors. In 1980, he was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

. Loscutoff lived in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

, where his family owns a day camp for children. His wife was artist Lynn Loscutoff. He died in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

, on December 1, 2015, from complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Note: Following the 1959–60 regular season, Loscutoff did not play in the 1960 postseason due to injury.

References

External links

Career Statistics on databasebasketball.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loscutoff, Jim 1930 births 2015 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Russian descent Basketball players from San Francisco Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Palo Alto High School alumni Small forwards Women's Professional Basketball League coaches